Orioles Face Major Adam Jones Decision

There isn’t a lot that Adam Jones hasn’t done in his 10 years as the cornerstone of the Orioles lineup.

He’s led the team to the playoffs. Two weeks ago, he got the 2018 season off to an auspicious start with a walk-off home run in extra innings to win the team’s Opening Day game.

Jones even helped facilitate a fan’s marriage proposal in Norfolk during the exhibition season, handing over the ring to a nervous fellow, who closed the deal with Jones standing by.

By any metric, Adam Jones’ decade patrolling center field has been a smashing success, coinciding with the franchise’s return to relevance.

At the end of his time here, Jones will be thought of as the first best player to spend his time exclusively in Camden Yards and as one of the 10 most significant Orioles in the 64 seasons since the franchise relocated here from St. Louis.

But when exactly will that term end? That is the big unanswered question surrounding the Orioles for 2018 and beyond.

From all indicators, the Orioles’ brass appears content to let shortstop Manny Machado walk as a free agent after this season.

It appears clear that the team will blanch from the $300 million – or more – that it will take to sign the 25-year-old third baseman-turned shortstop and watch him go, perhaps to the Yankees.

That would just be a repeat for many of the 2000 season when longtime Oriole pitcher Mike Mussina went to the Bronx for bigger bucks than Baltimore was willing to pay.

If you assume that Machado is gone, then signing Jones, who will also be a free agent after 2018, becomes fairly imperative for general manager Dan Duquette and ultimately team owner Peter Angelos, who will have to sign off on any new deal.

Jones signed an $85.5 million contract six years ago, a figure that seems like a bargain given what Machado will likely get and against the $160 million, seven year deal first baseman Chris Davis got two years ago.

At 32 years old, Jones is not likely to get what Davis got. But money may not be the prime consideration for the San Diego native.